The police barricades around the Statue of Peace, which symbolizes victims of the Japanese military's wartime sexual slavery, were completely removed for the first time in about six years. After the iron bars were taken down, a purple wreath symbolizing peace was placed above the statue's head.
The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council) held a barricade removal event for the statue during the 1,751st regular Wednesday rally for resolving the issue of the Japanese military sexual slavery, held on May 6 in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno District, Seoul.
Han Gyeong-hee, the new chair of the Korean Council, said, "The Statue of Peace has returned to the arms of citizens after 5 years and 11 months," adding, "For a long time, no one could come near it or sit on the empty chair, but citizens did not give up."
Han added, "Since 2019, forces denying history have called for the removal of the statue, repeating hate and lies, and in June 2020 the statue was trapped behind barricades in the name of protection," emphasizing, "Thanks to citizens' efforts, the law was revised to punish the spreading of false information, and with the arrest of a leading figure of the history-denying forces, we were able to take down the barricades today."
Previously, in June 2020, as hard-line conservative groups denying the coercion of the comfort women continued holding rallies, the Korean Council requested the installation of barricades to protect the statue. Later, Kim Byeong-heon, head of the People's Action to Abolish the Comfort Women Act, who had led anti–comfort women rallies, was arrested in March on charges including defaming the dead, accelerating discussions on removal.
Freed from the iron bars, the statue will undergo restoration work for two days starting in the afternoon. After carefully examining the statue, artist Kim Un-seong, who created and installed it, said, "There are scratches overall, so we plan to repaint it neatly," adding, "It is the first makeover in six years since it was confined behind the barricades."
Meanwhile, the statue is owned by the Korean Council and is designated as Jongno District's No. 1 public sculpture, with the district office managing it.